Leonard Feather Blindfold Tests

Leonard Feather: Hello, Hello, Vince Guaraldi.

[Plays "Blues Two Ways" by Pete Jolly, from Hello, Jolly, Ava Records (1964). Personnel: Pete Jolly, piano; Chuck Berghofer, bass; Dick Grove, composer.]

Vince Guaraldi: I think it's Junior Mance with the brass section. It could be Monty Budwig if it is Junior Mance. You want an opinion on the side, right?

Leonard Feather: Yeah, on the record, on the recording, on the soloist, anything you want to talk about.

Vince Guaraldi: Very good swinging. I think it's a good record. Its done very professional, very swinging. That's about all I can really say about it. I can't say anything about for...it's a swinging blues chart with a big band background and it's a good one. That's my opinion on that one.

Leonard Feather: You mean just unpretentious?

Vince Guaraldi: It is, it's honest. Its an honest piece of work. Bass player is good, drums are good, everybody's playing well. Piano player plays well, with conviction.

Leonard Feather: Mm-hmm.

Vince Guaraldi: Its an honest record.

Leonard Feather: How would you rate it?

Vince Guaraldi: I'll give it three stars.

Leonard Feather: Okay.

[Plays "The Golden Striker" by John Lewis, from The Golden Striker, Atlantic Records (1960). Personnel: John Lewis, piano, composer.]

Vince Guaraldi: John Lewis, it's his composition, I don't know the name of it. Anything he does is excellent in my opinion. I like the way he plays. I like the way he writes. I like his ideas about music. The group itself I think is a very fine group. They've done a lot for jazz, I think.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Vince Guaraldi: In their own way with the classical type of thing. They've done more for classical music, bringing it together than Brubeck did what he was trying to do, I think.

Leonard Feather: Mm-hmm.

Vince Guaraldi: Making a lot of those records with the European symphony bands and that type. It's really jazzy because they got Milt Jackson and there's no doubt what he is.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Vince Guaraldi: But Davidson was a different type of thing. Four stars.

Leonard Feather: Well Milt Jackson's not on your list.

Vince Guaraldi: No, it's not and I was talking about-

Leonard Feather: Not in general-

Vince Guaraldi: Yeah, his whole thing with the MJQ.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Vince Guaraldi: Five stars. Four or whatever you give him.

Leonard Feather: Well, five's the maximum.

Vince Guaraldi: Well he's the maximum in his field.

Leonard Feather: All right.

[Plays "Alone and I" by Herbie Hancock, from Takin' Off, Blue Note Records (1962). Personnel: Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; Dexter Gordon, tenor saxophone; Herbie Hancock, piano, composer.]

Vince Guaraldi: I like the trumpet player. The composition is nebulous because it sounds like a few standard ballads and kind of takes a left, melodically speaking. Piano player's good after a certain few...let me put it this way, the piano player is all right. The whole record really leaves me cold.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Vince Guaraldi: Two stars for effort because they were trying, I could tell. I like the trumpet player. Saxophone player didn't...gas me that much. Didn't seem to fit with the piano and the trumpet.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Vince Guaraldi: I don't know who it was and I don't know what the composition is.

Leonard Feather: Well maybe you can figure out what was wrong with it or why it didn't have a message for you.

Vince Guaraldi: Who am I to say whether it's right or wrong? I would say just in terms of performance it's a ballad and it's trying to create a certain type of mood and its sound is strained, strained to me. Yet, in jazz, I feel this, there's a certain amount of honesty in everybody's endeavors, whether they come off or not. I've found very few jive cats that really can play. I was trying to listen, for lack of a better expression, honesty I guess you'd call it, you can fall way short and still try to be as honest as you can. Two stars, I'll give it two stars. Who was it?

Leonard Feather: All right.

[Plays "Quiet Nights" by Laurindo Almeida, from Guitar from Ipanema, Capitol Records (1964). Personnel: Laurindo Almeida, guitar.]

Vince Guaraldi: I don't like this record. I don't like the interpretation of the material. I don't know what that guys I playing on, it sounds like an accordion with vibrato on it. Corcovado is kind of close to me. It's one of the first songs I heard Joao Gilberto doing on his capitol record and it really gassed me the first time I heard it. Just the arrangement, the way it was done, the whole thing it created. So when I hear people do the arrangement and the whole thing in kind of an offhanded manner...this is to me a kind fly into commercialism. They don't even know what the hell they're doing, in my opinion. I made a record of Corcovado because I like the song and I tried to get as close to what Jobim did, I don't know if I did. But this, the guitar player isn't even in to it, you can play the comp but never get in to it. No stars for this one.

[Plays "O Barquinho" by Cal Tjader, from Sona Libre, Verve Records (1963). Personnel: Cal Tjader, vibraharp; Clare Fischer, organ.]

Vince Guaraldi: This is a nice record and nice means dull. Musically speaking, this is Cal Tjader and I've heard him play a lot of music. Most of the Brazilian material is getting done to the bone, to me.

Leonard Feather: Yeah.

Vince Guaraldi: In the advent of the organ I've only heard one guy play the organ bossa nova from Brazil, guy named Walter Wanderley, whose fantastic. I give it two stars for effort.

Leonard Feather: What were you going to say about the organ?

Vince Guaraldi: The organ doesn't make it. After hearing what they do in Brazil with the organ and then hearing this, it doesn't make it. I was fortunate to hear some records from there. Just because you play the claves don't mean that is bossa nova. Two stars for effort, I think.

[Plays unknown song].

Vince Guaraldi: I don't know who this, I think he's playing on a bass clarinet. The record leaves me cold. For a blues, it leaves me cold. The piano player's all right. I mean, he's all right in the respect that he's aware musically what's going on and what has been going on in the last couple of years in jazz piano. I don't know who he is. This side is not what I would call relaxed side from beginning to end. The vibe player ain't even got to play yet. The way the guy is handling the instrument I don't approve, myself.

Leonard Feather: The horn you mean?

Vince Guaraldi: The horn, yeah. For the simple reason that I think if you're going to play an instrument, if you're going to bring an instrument into jazz that's not been into jazz before, I think it's best to get a solid toe hold with the foundation, bring it from where it's from and play it that way, then go from there. One star, I'd just give it one star, for showing up.

Leonard Feather: Okay. Two more?

Vince Guaraldi: Pardon?

Leonard Feather: You got time for a couple more?

Vince Guaraldi: Oh yeah, I got all kinds of-

[Plays "Judgement!" by Andrew Hill, from Judgement!, Blue Note Records (1964). Personnel: Andrew Hill, piano, composer; Bobby Hutcherson, vibraharp; Richard Davis, bass; Elvin Jones, drums.]

Vince Guaraldi: He stated what he was leading up to by the time he got there.

Leonard Feather: Okay.

Vince Guaraldi: I don't know who this is. I don't like this record. It's wild how three men can really create a cacophony. It doesn't mean a thing to me. The drums, the bass, it's three against each other. I'd give them no stars and it's best they didn't show on this one. I don't know who they are. I might be called a moldy fig for not condoning this type of jazz music. I've heard this done better by other people. Whoever this is, it maybe somebody with a name but I don't know who it is. I don't like it, doesn't do a thing for me, as a jazz listener.

Leonard Feather: Yeah, okay.

[Plays "Blowing in the Wind" by Duke Ellington, from Ellington '65, Reprise Records (1964). Personnel: Duke Ellington, piano; Bob Dylan, composer.]

Vince Guaraldi: I love it, I love this one. This is a good example of two individuals, Duke Ellington and Bob Dylan. The composition is a folk song, quite popular I'd imagine, and Duke Ellington treats it like everything he touches, in his own way, kind of a Midas touch. I love it, give it the maximum.

Leonard Feather: Any individual comments?

Vince Guaraldi: Johnny Hodges is beautiful. You listen to the men play when you hear that.

Leonard Feather: You mean the real men as opposed to the boys?

Vince Guaraldi: There's no doubt in your mind when you hear Duke Ellington's band play that yeah, these are the men.

[Plays "Hallelujah Time" by Woody Herman, from Woody Herman 1964, Philips Records (1964). Personnel: Carmen Leggio, tenor saxophone; Sal Nistico, tenor saxophone; Chuck Andrus, bass; Jake Hanna, drums; Oscar Peterson, composer; Nat Pierce, arranger.]

Vince Guaraldi: That's Woody Herman.

Leonard Feather: I thought you said it was Ted East?

Vince Guaraldi: I thought it was but actually near the end it's Woody Herman. The reason I said that, I saw the band many times were they were up in Frisco and I remember the arrangement. I think it's Sal playing and I don't know the other kid. Woody Hermann has always had great bands. He's been an inspiration to me in many ways. One thing I like about this, I don't think he has this band now, he's bringing the Italian saxophone players back. He's kept his band together through thick and thin. I've worked with him a little bit and learned an awful lot. I learned more with him than when I went to school. In fact, I went to school when I went to work with him. The maximum, he ranks with greats. I mean, he is the great ranks.

Leonard Feather: You like the rhythm section in the opening song?

Vince Guaraldi: I think that's Jake Hanna on the drums. Very good drummer. That's the kind of rehearser that keeps the band in shape and he's done a wonderful job with it. The bass player is a good bass player. Good trumpet section, I think Bill Chase the lead trumpet? Good, very good. Hot saxophone players. Woody's always had hot saxophone players but these guys really, the notes bubble out.

Leonard Feather: They do.